The WASPs: Unsung Heroes of WWII

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a pilot during World War II? For men, flying into battle was part of their daily life, but would it surprise you to hear that women flew military planes during this time, too? Meet the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or as they were more commonly known, the WASPs. This intrepid group of ladies worked to test fly planes, fly them to bases across the country, and made sure they were in working order–all while the idea of women in the military was absurd.

Regent’s Theatre department is gearing up for their upcoming show, Decision Height by Meredith Dana Levy. The show opens on October 4th and follows six trainees in the WASP program who navigate turbulent relationships, rigorous training, and constant threat of expulsion from the program. Though it does not highlight real historical figures, the play draws on true events and locations to tell the stories of these women.

But who were the real-life WASPs? What were their jobs like? How were they treated by the world around them? How did they fight to be recognized for their service?

According to both the Airforce Historical Support Division and the National Museum of the United States Army, the WASPs began as a merger between the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) and the Women’s Flying Training Detachment (WFTD). The WAFS were headed up by Nancy Harkness Love, a professional pilot. The WFTDs were led by Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran, a racing pilot and personal friend of Amelia Earhart. The two detachments were merged on August 5, 1943, to create the WASP program.

The primary WASP training base was located in Sweetwater, Texas. Early in the program, only women with commercial pilot licenses and 200 flight hours could enlist, but this was waived to include any woman willing to sign up. Here women would undergo rigorous physical training and flight school, where they were trained in how to fly and operate virtually every plane in the US military. Since they were test pilots, this meant they had to be capable of flying everything from tiny civilian planes to large bombers.

The US military would not allow the WASPs to be officially militarized, so every woman who enlisted in the program had to pay her own way through. Since the Air Force only enlisted men, all uniforms and planes were designed with this in mind. This meant that the women had to alter their own flight outfits or zoot suits, and many had to sit on cushions or boxes so they could see out of the cockpit. The women were often kicked out of galleys and local restaurants because of public disapproval. On several occasions, this mentality led to outright sabotage from male officers; in one incident an officer put sugar in the gas tank of a WASP plane, causing it to explode and kill the pilot. The WASP’s lack of militarization also meant that if a woman was killed in the line of duty, payment was required to retrieve her body, and her family could not bury her with military honors.

The WASP program was disbanded on December 20, 1944. Since they were not officially part of the US military, former WASPs were denied veterans benefits–which became a topic of protest from the surviving pilots. After decades of petitioning Congress, President Jimmy Carter signed a bill granting veteran status to the WASPs in November of 1977, 33 years after the program ended. In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded the surviving WASPs the Congressional Gold Medal, finally honoring them for their service.

To see more of the story of the WASPs, catch Regent Theatre’s production of Decision Height running October 4th-6th and 11th-13th. Contact the Regent Box Office at (757) 352-4245 or online at regent.edu/boxoffice for tickets.